Tamara Freuman, MS, RD, CDN

The intricate relationship between how food and nutrients interact with the digestive tract captured my attention early on during my dietetics training, and I realized that nutritionists can play an essential role in helping people managing a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms and disorders. I think every gastroenterology practice should have an expert GI dietitian on staff, and research confirms that patients with functional GI disorders who have access to multi-disciplinary care (including dietitians) have better quality of life outcomes compared to patients who only have access to their gastroenterologist alone.